He was born Sept. 17, 1921, in Plainview. He graduated from Sudan High School and Texas Tech University. He was a U.S. Navy veteran of World War II. He was a 50-year member of the Texas Masons, and he was a member of the Masonic Lodge 236 AF&AM in Kerens.

He was a member of the Kerens Independent School District Board of Trustees, and he was a former member of the Kerens Kiwanis. He was a member and former president of the Administrative Board of First United Methodist Church of Kerens.

He was a Linotype operator for The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal in the 1940s. He was editor and publisher of the Kerens Tribune from 1956 to 1975. He was a former mayor of Kerens.

Survivors include his wife, Laurette; a son, Wayne of Corsicana; two daughters, Sharon Cruse of Albuquerque, N.M., and Jeaneen Ronan of Maumee, Ohio; a sister, Jean Kerr of Vacaville, Calif.; and five grandchildren.